‘Officers are no longer actively trying to capture bears, and equipment has been removed’
Conservation officers in British Columbia have ended their active search for a grizzly bear that severely injured four people during what officials describe as an “extraordinary attack” on a school group near Bella Coola last month, according to a report.
In a statement issued Friday, the B.C. Conservation Officer Service said DNA and other forensic testing ruled out four grizzlies captured on Wednesday as being involved in the Nov. 20 incident, reported The Canadian Press (CP).
The agency also noted there had been no further bear sightings near the attack site, in the Bella Coola area about 700 kilometres northwest of Vancouver, for five days.
“Based on this factor and due to the time of year, when bears begin denning, officers are no longer actively trying to capture bears, and equipment has been removed,” the service said, according to the CP report.
The attack occurred while a group of about 20 elementary school pupils and staff were eating lunch on a field trip. Three students and one school staff member were badly injured, while seven others were treated at the scene. “Teachers successfully repelled the bear using pepper spray and a bear banger,” according to the Conservation Officer Service.
‘Extraordinary response’ by officers
The Conservation Officer Service said 24 officers were involved over two weeks in an intensive effort to locate the bear. That operation included officers driving overnight to deliver animal samples to a forensics laboratory at the University of Alberta for testing, according to CP.
“This was an extraordinary response to an extraordinary attack — our investigation determined the behaviour and actions of this bear were aggressive and unlike any other documented grizzly bear attack we have seen in B.C., or Canada,” Insp. Kevin Van Damme of the conservation service said in the statement, according to the report.
In total, at least eight bears were captured during the search. The latest four — an adult female and three cubs — will be released far from Bella Coola, as were the previous four, after testing cleared them of involvement in the attack.
The Conservation Officer Service said it is now shifting its focus to prevention and community support. It will work with the Nuxalk Nation “to identify and find solutions to safely coexist with bears,” and a full-time conservation officer has been posted in Bella Coola, according to CP.
